


Then Again

by AikoIsari



Series: Pendulum [1]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Death, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:31:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3483164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AikoIsari/pseuds/AikoIsari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>02 AU. In one's failure is an opportunity for success. In the depths of darkness, light can still shine. Three years have passed since the worlds were covered in darkness. Now, Takeru may have found a way to bring the light back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Edict of Abyss

_**Prologue: The Edict of Abyss** _

_If you value your life, obedience is key._

_Brightness ends with the sun._

_Darkness is your birther_

_Your saviors are in chains_

_When the sun sets, the demons roam._

_When the light gleams, you shall toil on._

_Our web does not burn, but you crackle as pigs._

_To smile is to fear_

_To hope is to become despair._

_A human is not a monster's keeper._

_Revolution will be answered with red._

_May the light be cursed wherever it burns._

_May you be blessed with the wisdom of the darkness._

_Edict of Abyss, enacted on August 7th, 1999_

* * *

_August 4th, 1999_

At last, it was done. All of that work, finally they have created something worthwhile.

Could they be blamed for it taking as long as it did? Despair was not so simple as a few triggering words and a wave of fingers, not for a matter of this scale.

This was only their beginning, as it stood. There was still so much to do, so many tasks necessary to regulate these creatures. They were many, if some resisted, losing a few could not pose much harm. It was for the sake of evolution, after all.

That was what the chain breaker had told them. Clever creature that one had been, seeing the worth that the light had ignored, that the abomination had abandoned. They, that slight may always be raw. For how could they reject one love for another, one hope?

They breathed slowly. No, it would not do to succumb to self-satisfaction. Soon. For now, they could play.

Humans were always the best toys. They struggled so much like rats.

On the other side of the gate, a black mist began to fall over the planet earth, and with it, many large eggs.

* * *

The wind had stopped blowing. Above a blond child's head, the clouds were growing closer and darker, undeterred by the wind. Above even that, a large mountain fell, nothing left to hold up the spiral of metal.

For a moment, the little boy shook with fear. Then he gathered himself, wiping his face of tears. As quickly as he could, he opened his arms. His friend, his first friend, popped into them immediately. The other, his second friend, was nowhere to be found.

For a moment, he was frightened again. The darkness was laughing, cackling with a bully's sneer. Then, as only a small child could, the child grew angry. "Give him back!" he screamed. "He was my friend first, give him  _back_!"

More laughter brushed against his ears.  _Why on earth would I do that?_

"Give him  _back_!" It just didn't understand. He was a child. He was the only  _boy_. They, his friends, belonged to him. He deserved them, because he was  _alive._ They were with him because they wanted to be. He would teach the darkness that. Nothing was stronger than what his friends wanted, than what he wanted. His first friend began to tremble, glowing underneath the tight grip of his fingers.

" _My friend is my friend, not yours, and I won't play games with strangers, so you give him back right_  now!"

The flower field, which had been turning as black as a starless sky, lit up golden and beautiful for one last time.

* * *

All around the world, darkness settled over the sky, like dust in an empty room. Takeru watched from his perch on a cloud, gripping his green hat tight in sweaty hands. Tears welled up in his eyes. This was... this was all his fault. If only he were just a tiny bit stronger, they could have won. They would have if his brother had been there. They could have done it if it wasn't for Piemon and his dumb keychain attack!

Instead, now he was simply stuck watching, watching on a bed of somehow solid clouds as though he were a god. He wasn't, he was just a little boy. And now...

" _Where have you gone? Aren't we still playing a ga~ame?"_

The boy flinched at the voice. They were safe here, he reminded himself. They had to be. The rope wouldn't have lead them all the way up here to get caught, would it? Then again, no one could predict the thoughts of an inanimate object. He drew back from the edge he was standing near, just to be sure.

"Takaishi Takeru-kun."

He stilled, whole body turning towards the voice. He recognized it, but how had it gotten all the way here? He managed a weak smile, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "Gennai-san..." Then he took in the old man's ashen face and the way he stood. Something had gone wrong, just like everything else.  _Onii-chan..._  He imagined his brother's face, unwavering and faithful, and straightened. "What is it?" He could be brave. Takeru knew he just had to try.

Gennai's expression, through the bulge of his eyes and set of his frown, seemed sympathetic, if unsettled. "Hikari-chan is in great danger."

That sent a chill like no other down his spine. Danger was red lights and sickness, dark skies and a gun at his head.  _What is it?_ The old man beckoned and Takeru followed, unable to speak or complain at the speed the man shuffled. Gennai was hurt; the entity had showed them this. It gave him time to wonder. Was Hikari-chan that same way? He had to help her; he was the only one who could.

After what Mimi-san had done for them, to make sure they had gotten up here, there had to be something he could do.

"A great darkness has fallen upon your world from ours," Gennai continued gravely, watching the way Takeru's eyes unconsciously chased the swish of his ponytail. "The darkness affects the light. It affects her."

"Can I do something about it?" the blond half-demanded. He couldn't help himself. The others couldn't fight anymore, no one could protect them but them.

Gennai shook his head. "I'm afraid that alone, you have no chance of fighting it."

"I'm not alone!" Takeru shouted, stopping to stare firmly at Gennai's back. "Everyone's with me! I have Patamon! I'm not going to give up."

" _ **I'm afraid giving up is the only thing you can do right now, Chosen Child."**_

He froze as Gennai led him onward. The old man only sighed, gesturing for him to keep walking forward. "You've heard him."

"Who, who was that?" He had a sudden urge to hug Patamon and never let go. Then he remembered that he had asked his friend to stay with Hikari-chan now. Hikari-chan didn't have her partner anymore, not really, and Patamon always made him feel better.

On his backpack, a keychain swung.

"The one who brought you here," Gennai said, leading him forward. "The one who graced you with your Crest. The one who once again asks for your choices."His old voice sounded so tired, so much like his father. It made him sad.

They entered a large, elegant room and the clouds closed behind them like doors. It reminded Takeru of the royal palaces of picture books. How this remained on a cloud was beyond him, beyond the scope of reality. Then again, he was probably still in the Digital World, and like Koushiro said, anything could be possible.

He just didn't expect 'anything' to be a giant dragon. Its blue form was chained, the transparent light like the neon signs in shop windows.

" _ **Chosen Child, I have been waiting to meet you."**_

"Me," Takeru said, putting his cap back on. "But why?" He looked around for Hikari-chan and saw her sitting under the creature's great swirling body. Her rosy eyes looked up at him and she smiled. She toyed with the keychain in her hands. The weak expression made him ill. Even Patamon's comforting presence, now back on his head, did nothing to assure him.

There was a crashing sound like thunder, almost a sigh. " _ **I am Qinglongmon and I am the one who created your Crest from the energies of old. I wish I could have done more before now. Alas, I believe I -we- have underestimated our enemies and put too much on you children. I wanted you here, to see what you are, and you are more than I grasped from the preliminary data. If only we could have given you more time, more weapons. If only..."**_

Takeru's hand found the keychain on his bag, and looked into his older brother's painted-on eyes. It didn't move; the frown remained painted there. Yet, he could hear his voice. It was strong and calm, telling him words he always had wanted him to say, and he was a bit bad at saying them.

Everyone here, even Takeru himself, was so tired. It would be so easy, so nice, to just let it all go and stay here, let the world be washed away in darkness. The pallid chill in Hikari-chan's face would go away, they would be Patamon's partner together. They wouldn't have to fight anymore.

The little boy took a deep breath and looked up at Qinglongmon. "What do I have to do?" At the puzzlement in those many red eyes, Takeru waved his hands again. "What do I have to do to change all of this?"

* * *

_"Ah, we were so close."_

_"Why did they fail?"_

_"We can wait."_

_"Tonight, we will sleep."_

_"Until the next one."_

_"And the next..."_

_"Until you come for us."_

_"We need only wait."_


	2. Gathering the Ashes

_**Chapter One: Gathering the Ashes** _

_April 1st, 2002_

The alarm rang and Daisuke woke in an instant. He groaned at the spinning in his head, keeping it as quiet as he could. The boy knew better than to make all that much noise. It was six thirty in the morning, and  _he_  didn't want to be up. His mother didn't have to be awake until eight. In his father's case, he wasn't even home yet. it was such a pain. However, he couldn't complain. Complaints meant you were thinking.

Motomiya Daisuke was not very good at thinking. Or he tried not to be, anyway. Thinking too much would cause a real headache.

He stood as quietly as he could. It was hard because his room was a mess, trash in one corner, clothes everywhere. He could blame his sister for that. Damn Jun, couldn't stay out of anybody or anything because gossip was mindless. He brushed at his auburn hair with his fingers, stripping off the featureless pajamas and stumbling to the bathroom.

"Mng... stupid school and stupid shifts..."

It wasn't hard to grumble. After all, most of the time, he  _meant_  it and all the minor issues of the world deserved a good whine or two. He didn't like trying to heat up rice burned courtesy of his frantic mother who was overworked. He would suffer non-homemade ramen before that. At the sound of water splashing and steam bursting over cold tile, he sighed in relief. Yes, his father had remembered the heating bill. Now the guards wouldn't give the reminder to  _him_ like they always did at seven-oh-five. Like he could control his idiot of a dad and his spending habits.

Even the little things were important when ruled by an unseen, inhuman dictator. Or group of dictators.

"Motomiya Daisuke."

"Yo," he greeted without looking up to see the Bakumon sitting there on his toilet seat. The purple goat looked through his shower curtain without so much as a hint of displeasure and Daisuke mentally appreciated it. It was at least better than the PicoDevimon who pretended to be his mirror two weeks ago, looking all disgusted. They always popped in on his shower, anyway. It was the standard. Just like it was his standard to not tremble in the middle of washing his hair. "What's the word?"

The Bakumon nodded, as if he had actually bothered to say the correct words instead of act normal. "Motomiya Akihiro will be delayed. A security check halted traffic by two hours. We locked him in his car to prevent transgressions. This message will be repeated to Motomiya Kaname and Motomiya Jun upon their awakening. Please do not repeat or spread this message barring the traffic report."

"Got it," he replied, wiping soap away from his brown eyes. "Won't repeat the message, will proceed with life as normal, etcetera, etcetera." Daisuke resisted the urge to shout "get out" at the top of his powerful lungs. He had to resist a lot of urges in this world order. If he hadn't done it, well...

He couldn't think about that. Daisuke mentally kicked himself. He would not think about that. He would  _not_.

That person wouldn't want that.

He turned off the water and looked at the foggy mirror. He gave it a chipper thumbs up and winked. Today was a new day; he could make the best of it.

The Bakumon, as if it was reading his mind again, merely shook its tusked head and said nothing, vanishing to go and bother someone else. Daisuke wrapped a towel around his waist as he left the bathroom, going to boil some water.

Nothing made a good start to the morning like homemade ramen.

* * *

" _Men!_ "

He shouted to the dojo and to himself alone. He slashed downward with a single footstep. The head was the highest place, the part where he had to aim the most carefully. It was the best place for a kill in battle.

Hida Iori had failed it every time he tried.

He couldn't kill.

" _Men!"_

His arms shook with exhaustion, but he swung downward again, aiming for an opponent he knew he could reach if he tried. Giving up on the head, he swung for the legs, much closer. It was dishonorable and he hated himself for it. However...Iori shuddered and swung to the side.

" _Dou!"_

He couldn't die, not now. Not when he was the only one who could protect his family.

Iori struck at the air again.

If only he were stronger. If only he had justice.

* * *

The fact that there was a sun in the city sky amused him somewhat. The boy would have thought the new world would be more depressing. He certainly expected it to smell more dead. However, looking at the eerily pristine city streets, at the familiarity of people walking down the roads, he could almost believe that they had won after all.

Then the keychain swung against his arm and the boy remembered. If they had won, he wouldn't be alone today. Well, almost alone. "Ookay," he murmured. "Where to first?" It had been so long since he had been here. He couldn't be sure where he was even going. Maybe everything had been shuttled around like data in a computer. The human world wasn't a computer. How would that even work...?

"Home?" asked a cheerful voice from his tattered bag. "Food?"

"I like the second idea," he said with a small grin, ruffling his blond locks under his hat. "It's probably not a good plan to go home yet, not by myself. I'll probably do a lot of damage."

Takashi Takeru looked wistfully up at the sky, adjusting his white hat upon his head. "I guess there's something else I have to do first then. Wait for me, Hikari-chan."

He continued down the street, humming to himself and to the one in his bag. Thankfully, his friend didn't hum along, or he would have gotten more bizarre looks than he already was. Today could be a good day, or a bad day. He just had to play his cards right. That was all.

"Hey,  _you_!"

Well, there went that good hand.

Takeru paused, slowing his steps to a halt. Now that was a  _rude_ way to greet someone. Or perhaps being rude was the norm these days. He just had to play along and act cool. Take a leaf from Onii-chan and the others and be brave. He took a deep breath and turned to look behind him, smiling with all of his teeth. "Good morning!" The speaker, a girl with lavender hair, looked quite unsettled. What? Had she never seen a grin before? Or maybe she hadn't expected him to stop. A part of him laughed. "Is there something wrong?"

She paused, apparently actually having to think about it. It was official: courtesy was her stop button. If he saw her again, he'd have to keep that in mind. Then her temper caught up and she scowled. "Yes, there  _damn well_  is! The school is the opposite direction!"

Takeru quirked an eyebrow. "...So?"

Her orange eyes flickered with anger. "So?! Our district is not getting in trouble because of one stupid kid playing hooky!" Takeru glanced her over, looking at her bright colors and false hostile stance of feet apart, shoulders up, and shook his head.  _Fear._  He knew all about that. So that was how they played this part of the world. Not much different from the others. It made him cheer a little on the inside. Maybe  _she_  had been waiting for the right thing after all. Fear was able to be beaten. "What's with that look? Are you listening to me?"

He smiled sheepishly, raising his hands. "Sorry, sorry. I'm not trying to get you in trouble, really. I'm just not registered here yet, so... I'm trying to find a place to stay."

Emotions played about on her face. Pity, disbelief, anger, concern... they were emotions he knew very well. So he waited for them to go through. He had nothing against the girl, or whoever it was he would probably hurt with this half-truth. However, he had plenty to do, and it had to be accomplished quickly. He hoped she would leave him alone so he could.

Then her eyes narrowed, a catlike look of disgust on her face. Darn. His luck just wasn't in the cards today."Your parents should be doing that for you! You should be in school, like the rest of us!"

"They should," he agreed, beginning to walk away. "That doesn't mean they will. I'll make it to school, miss. Don't you worry." He could feel her tensed to chasing him; or to be more accurate, heard her shoes scuff against the concrete. It was amazing what you could notice when someone was less than a foot away. That was also his cue to bolt.

That was exactly what Takaishi Takeru did on his first day back in Odaiba. He ran forward and out of sight, just before the lavender girl could pick up her jaw.

It wasn't like he wouldn't be going to school anyway. Now he just had to be early.

What a mix up this would be.

* * *

"Oi,  _Daisuke_ , perk up."

Daisuke let out a snort in his sleep and bolted to his feet. Freaking first day of school and early morning soccer practice. Both on the same day was absolutely bonkers. "What the hell," he grumbled, brushing at his eyes. "I barely get sleep as it is. Not like we're learning today."

"Yeah," agreed the boy in front of him with a snort. "But there's a new kid."

"Dude, we're in fifth grade," Daisuke muttered irritably. "Who cares?" That person elbowed him the ribs and he winced, kicking the offender underneath the desk. He sat back down again, smirking with triumph even as the door slid open and their homeroom teacher walked in. He was, of course, followed by a brown and green bird. Daisuke hated those little bastards. Kiwimon always pecked you right in the butt when you weren't getting out of the school fast enough. Arrogant little twerps. They were the best guards for an elementary school full of idiots. No kid outran one of them.

Following the menace of the school was... oh,  _shit._

Daisuke felt his blood run cold and his heart stopped beating.

Shit. Shit.  _Shit_. This was impossible.

Yet... and yet...

The boy bowed as he stopped writing his name on the chalkboard. "My name is Ichijouji Ken. Please take care of me."

This kid was supposed to be  _dead_.

Despite Daisuke's brain telling him it was impossible, he sat down next to Daisuke after his introduction, not a care in the world. He smiled at him, that gentle smile Daisuke hadn't seen in over two years. "Hi, Motomiya-kun. It's sure been a while, hasn't it?"

Oh,  _shit._

* * *

Never had a school break-in gone so well.

Ken smiled to himself, focusing on scribbling on his piece of paper. History lessons were the least of what was on his mind today, but he had to pretend for a while. After all, it wouldn't do to keep looking up at his old friend, now would it? Said Daisuke was barely avoiding the urge to stare at him outright instead of shooting those one-eyed glances at his temple. It was funny. Ken pulled a lock of dark blue hair and placed it behind his ear, scratching harder at the paper. He had to struggle not to wink at him, as though there was a secret they both knew, one that would make them laugh about old times and punch each other in the arm.

There were secrets, however. They both had secrets, and all of them were dangerous. Then again, so much was dangerous these days. There was almost no point to having secrets at all.

"Ichijouji-kun, can you please read the next passage?"

"Yes ma'am."

He ignored Daisuke's eyes as he stood up. He couldn't say anything now. It was too soon.

But he could give him a cheerful smile.

_It's okay, Daisuke-kun. I'm not dead. I'm not a ghost._

Not yet anyway. But that was why he was here.

* * *

Lunch came and went and soon enough, that final bell rang. Daisuke watched everyone go. He didn't want to leave yet. It wasn't like it wouldn't be the same tonight as it was this morning. Mom would be out of sight, Dad would be leaving. Jun... who cared where she went? If nobody gave a hoot where he was, why would they worry about her?

Slowly, he became aware Ken was still there. The other was smiling as he packed his bag. It wasn't even a deliberate slowness, just that casual thing that Daisuke recognized. It was methodical (dictionaries came in handy), patient. It was a completely  _Ken_  thing, down to the way he clicked his pencils twice and tested his zippers.

" _Your zipper's stuck!"_

" _Is not!"_

" _Then what_ _are ya doin' that for?"_

_A pout. "Cause."_

"Why are you here?" Daisuke asked abruptly.

Ken gave him a smile, purple locks falling back about his ears as he turned his head. "Cause," he replied with a laugh, as though he had read Daisuke's mind.

Daisuke grunted, but smiled despite himself. " _Cause_  isn't a reason, Ichijouji."

"It was always your reason," the other replied in a soft voice, grinning with that look of "I-got-the-strawberry" triumph that had always peppered their games when they were friends.

"Yeah, well... get your own." Daisuke pretended to scowl. Ken chuckled and they sat in silence, Daisuke watching him reorganize his textbooks and summoned his bod "Ichijouji... why? How?"

"For you," his old friend replied simply. He pushed his chair in, feeling the Kiwimon's eyes on the back of his head.

Daisuke blinked. "Wha...?"

Ken snapped his bag shut and turned to look at him. "I'm here for Daisuke. I'm not supposed to be, but I asked. So, here I am. For Daisuke." His words were hurried, which was unlike the Ken who always took great care in his way of speaking. Anxiety made each sound shiver.

"What are you talking abo-" The classroom door slid open and a blond head poked its way in. He smiled at the sight of them.

"There you are," the owner said, waltzing in without a care in the world. He brushed at his green shirt and set his bag down. Daisuke felt himself shift backwards, even as Ken smiled back.

"Takaishi-san."

"Takeru," the other corrected with a sigh. "We're friends, after all." He looked over at Daisuke, who still stood with his mouth agape, eyes wide. "This is him, Ken-kun?" Ken nodded and beamed at Daisuke, putting his hands behind his back. "Excellent," the boy called Takeru said softly. "Very, very good. Fast as always, Ken-kun."

Ken flushed and Daisuke winced.  _Every compliment embarrasses him._ He was becoming real, but he couldn't be. He had... he had...

" _Kid's D.O.A."_

" _Shh! There's a child here!"_

"The hell... is going on here?" He snapped. "I gotta get home soon. if any of us breaks curfew..." Daisuke shuddered, half-theatrics, half-truth. "I'm not letting my mum end up like the neighbors, all right? I'm not!" He stood and strode to the door. "... Later Ichijouji." The words shouldn't have left his lips, shouldn't have acknowledged the dead, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to believe in miracles.

Ken stood to go after him, but the blond held out a hand. "Don't worry. We can't jump the gun with him yet." Takeru watched Ken's face fall, the purple eyes turning a dark, royal shade of blue. He frowned, feeling chastised by the complete despondency. "Oh, now, don't do that Ken-kun."

Ken shook his head, smiling again and brushing it aside. "I'm okay; you know I am." He shrugged. "Probably just gave him too many frights for a day." He gave Takeru a scolding look. "This is why you belong on the field, Takaishi-san," he said with a wry shake of his head. "You've lost your touch."

"Takeru hasn't lost anything!" His bag protested and both boys laughed.

Takeru rubbed his eyes, smirking a bit. "Patamon, I believe that crazy chick from this morning will beg to differ on that."

"That's because she's crazy!"

"No more than us, my friend," Takeru murmured gently. "No more than us." He clapped Ken on the shoulder. "Counting on you to watch my back, Ken-kun."

Ken nodded. "Always."

* * *

"God... it smells so  _bad_ in here."

Daisuke wrinkled his nose as he dragged a black garbage bag through his room, sweeping in wrappers and non-recyclables with gloved hands. It was less of a disaster zone than he thought, but if his mother saw this she would make a Kiwimon's beak look like a ruler on the hand, and he knew how badly  _those_ hurt.

… It was only one soccer ball through the window! One!... At least that was what it was in February. He had never gotten that ball back.

At the thought of the soccer ball, he thought of Ken. They had played a cheap game of soccer back in the day, when all they had was walls and floors and dim lights after the takeover. Until he had been stupid and...

No. It didn't matter. Ken was alive, somehow, through a miracle, whatever. He was alive and happy to see him.

Aw, damn it. Now he was getting sentimental. You couldn't be sentimental. Not now. Not after all of that.

"Daisuke, what the hell are you doing in there?"

Daisuke jolted, realizing he had been sweeping pretty damn loudly in his efforts to think. "Cleaning, Jun," he shouted back. "You oughta try it sometime!"

"Very funny, hedgehog breath!"

"No better than that thing you call a hairstyle!"

"What was that?"

Daisuke grinned, and knew in the living room, his sister was doing the exact same thing. He'd probably hate her in another life, but now they were in the same hell, and it was routine to just stick their tongues out at each other and squabble. It wasn't like there was anyone else in this house to fight over stupid stuff, or he had any friends to do it with.

Well, he had Ken now, and there was less of a shadow over his head over that. It relieved him, in some bleak and twisted way. The guilt could go away, right?

That would depend on if it was even his fault to begin with.

He didn't want to figure out the answer to that. Thinking was a silly idea. With a grumble, he knelt to grab up more garbage, letting it fall into his black bag and crinkle. "Note to self: do this more than once a month," he muttered. "If the inspectors see this, I'm a goner. Or at least from the soccer team."

Daisuke groaned to himself and tied the bag shut. Well, he could see his floor now. Now he just had to organize everything. Maybe Ken would help. He had been neater than Daisuke back then... why the hell was he thinking about Ken so much?

 _Because he's alive, you great dunderhead,_ his brain said in the rude voice he reserved for Mom and Dad. L _ast you checked he wasn't capable of breathing, let alone smiling at you. You're_ happy _, for gods' sake._

Yeah. He was happy, wasn't he? He had a real friend again.

Unless he had been replaced by that blond kid.

Nah. Ken wasn't like that.

Hefting the heavy garbage bag over his shoulder, Daisuke slowly made his way out the apartment door and down the stairs, almost whistling as he dropped the bag in the dumpster. "A job well-done," he declared to himself.

At those words, the back alley exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This edit didn't take as long because there wasn't really much I could do with it, seeing as the next chapter's in progress. Anyway, apologies for all the swearing. It's Daisuke for a bit. Next chapter will be fun. Promise. Explosions!


	3. Orange Coals

Wallace was an old hand at the "retrieval" missions. He wasn't Takeru level good, but he could charm a girl and make a guy laugh long enough to tranquilize them and drag them in. Not that the others  _liked_ his way of doing things, but it sure beat having his partners pop up from nowhere and be like: hi, I'm here to kidnap you and convince you to join a potentially life-threatening revolution. At least the sedative meant he was prepared to catch them.

He didn't like Takeru's way. It seemed too… easy going. These guys saw the Digimon as a pure threat, and it took way too many near-death experiences to get them to wise up and join the fight right and proper. However, Takeru thought people wouldn't do anything intelligent if they were forced to do it and the eventual mutiny wasn't worth the clean up.

Wallace spat out his gum and rolled his eyes. He pulled a twig from his hair, curling back around his laptop computer with the same sort of possessiveness a person might give a cat, or their child. He grimaced as he watched the mess on screen. This was the other reason why he didn't like Takeru's methods. Up until now, he had escaped relatively unscathed and without too much widespread chaos. But that was out of his crazy luck, and that was going to run out.

Watching the kid's Pegasmon gallop over Odaiba's skies, he was starting to think it was that time.

"Damn it," he muttered, and began to type. He had to hope the others got back from the hunt soon. Where Pegasmon went, Takeru wasn't far behind. And that meant Ken was either near him or back in the Digital World.

If this got one of the new kids killed, he was going to be  _pissed_. They weren't exactly high on teammates

A notification beeped on his computer and he gave it only a glance before shutting the device and moving to his feet. As he did, a shadow slipped to his side, nuzzling his pant leg with a dark nose.

"We've been summoned for something," he said with a grimace and crick in his neck.

The rabbit nodded, scratching one ear. He bounced up and Wallace managed a smile. "Okay, okay, up you go." At his perch, the rabbit leaned against his cheek. "Let's hope your brother is already there. The Beacon doesn't make calls for nothing."

Wallace just hoped it had nothing to do with the mission. But it always did.

* * *

Daisuke took a few moments to recover his bearings, vision blurred and coughing up smoke and dust. He rubbed his head, appreciating the narrow avoidance of his head colliding with the brick wall. "What the hell," he wheezed. "Just happened?"

Was someone just arrested? That didn't explain an explosion. Not that explosions needed much in the way of an explanation but at this point, he was just hoping the eventual fire didn't reach him. He heard another resounding crash and groaned. Time to get the hell out of dodge. He proceeded to bolt, jumping from the alley and up the stairs. He had to get to a phone or hope that somebody else got to a phone because if they didn't, he was screwed. And he he had to get to Jun

He looked up in an attempt to quell his curiosity on 'what the hell just happened' when he saw a blur of gold go through the air. It caught itself a building away from his apartment complex and skidded. The creature, which now that it wasn't a blur Daisuke could see was clearly a giant horse with wings, reared back and leaped off the building, soaring towards something in the smoke.

Daisuke rubbed his eyes. "What the hell?" He turned his brain back off and went running for the apartment. If Jun was still in there, which was likely, she could get hit. Not even sibling issues were worth her dying. He ran towards the apartment complex door and up the stairs.

What the hell were Digimon doing, fighting in the human world? They didn't do that! They chased each other through the Digital World and murdered criminals there for sport. That was what they showed on TV anyway, and since they came from the internet, there was no reason for that not to be true. The internet was full of weird crap and all.

"Jun!" he shouted. "Jun, we've gotta evacuate!" He wrenched her door open, seeing her fumbling with the handle of their security box. " _Jun_!" Was now really the time?

"Regulations say to bring it, Daisuke!"

He would have scowled at her if he had the time. As it was he was grabbing his emergency stuff and barreling to grab the few things in his room that he couldn't live without, or thought he couldn't. As he made to leave his room, something flickered on his bedside table. He turned to see the regulation watch, the device the "all mighty overlords" tracked them with, flickering blue. It continued to flicker and he moved towards it. This was the last thing he needed. If it was dying or something, he would hear hell about it. His parents would feel it too. He went to touch it and it warped around his fingers, shrinking around them and settling in his hand.

This wasn't good. He didn't need this, he didn't want this. Daisuke made to drop it. The light, however, decided it belonged right where it was. In fact, it only seemed to grow brighter. Daisuke kept a grip on his emergency bag as he shouted for Jun. His voice slurred as the light grew, distorting and twisting him into a rainbow vortex.

_Daisuke-kun!_

_Huh?_  A touch at the edge of his consciousness. It was feather light, but then reminded him of a bird on his arm.

_Daisuke-kun! I found you! We found you!_

_Who?_ He tried to reel back but there was nowhere to go. No one answered even once.

_Do you remember me?_

Should he?

He wanted to look around, to see who was  _creeping into his brain_ , but when his vision cleared, he was sprawled on the ground, body sore and a reddish sky over his head. He groaned. "What in the...where am I?"

No one answered. That weirdo feeling was gone. Instead, the terminal in his hand (what the heck was this thing now?) let out a soft beep, settling into a blue and white device that reminded him of an old cell phone. "Oh damn it..." This was a pain. Would he have to get this thing replaced? What would that do to his parents? Or Jun? Forget him.

Okay, he just had to hide it. Keep it in his pocket, hope it gave off the same signal as the actual terminal.

As if to piss him off, the device let out a loud beep.

So this thing was as much of a headache as he was. Good to know. He looked down at it, turning it like a compass. As he did, a blue dot lit up at the edge of the screen. "What, is this the way home?"

It beeped at him again.

_Can't believe I'm talking to a psycho terminal…_

Well, it was go to the dot, or go to nowhere and be stuck in wherever this was. So he started walking. It wasn't a quiet place, wherever it was. Daisuke winced as he heard the sound of something breaking in the distance. "Seriously, where am I?" The more trees he passed, the less people he saw, the more he was almost certain: this was the Digital World. But only criminals got thrown here. What had he done?

_I saw Ken and that one guy…_

But seeing two kids at school wasn't a crime, right? They would have gotten his parents if it was, right?

The beeping came again, louder this time, and Daisuke started to run just a bit faster. It would be nice if it shut up and maybe the dot would be somewhere he could hide. Of course, he doubted that, but he had to hope it was something positive.

The ground suddenly started to tremble and what looked like some kid's ultra rhinoceros ran by, flattening trees and paying Daisuke no mind. Daisuke went stock still. A Monochromon. That was actually a Monochromon. He'd seen one once before. It was still as… big as he remembered. He rubbed his eyes, waiting for the shaking to stop. He placed one hand on his bag, only to realize his legs were trembling.

Daisuke swore. "I'm such a coward..." He rested a hand in his hair, tugging at the band of the square goggles around his neck. "Is this how it's gonna be? Me wimping out at everything?" He bowed his head at every Digimon, ran from his friend and had now left his own sister in a war zone. "I'm the worst, I swear..."

He should have been like that guy, that one who had stormed the tv station, riding on his dragon and blasting enemies like they were video game punks. Then again, he didn't have a giant dragon.

The terminal let out an irritated beep and shot out of his hand. He winced. "What the hell- get back here!"

It didn't have ears, so of course it went flying deeper into the trees. The only way Daisuke could still see it was from the glowing blue light. That probably meant anyone could see it. Darn it.

Well, no choice then. He bolted, thanking his soccer coach for making him run laps until his legs almost fell off. He kept his eyes on the glowing light, pausing only at the sound of a loud, distant crash. By the time he had caught up with it, it was resting on cool dirt inside of a cave. He wanted to groan, but he was too busy trying to breathe.

Thing was as cheeky as his sister.

He peered out of the mouth of the cave. Well, he could stay here and risk being spotted by whatever was making all that noise, or he could go exploring.

Maybe he was stupid, maybe he was tired, or maybe it was just he had nothing better to do, but Daisuke picked up the terminal and went inside.

He slumped against the wall, dropping the bag he had forgotten was over one arm. He needed a few minutes. He'd get up in a bit.

* * *

"Ken, you would see better if you blinked."

Ken didn't even bother to react to that one. Wallace was bored. When he was bored, he decided to poke fun at people. For some reason it always had to be him. At least this time he had the excuse of 'Ken called him in for seemingly nothing'. Ignoring this, Ken continued to scrutinize the statue before him. "Wormmon, did you see it?"

"There weren't any changes, Ken-chan," his partner reported patiently from where he sat on a pillar. "Lopmon didn't see anything either."

"But I  _felt_  something." He didn't mean to pout, but there had to have been  _something._

Wallace snorted. "You  _always_  feel things, Ken." He continued to watch the computer screen. You're going to give Osamu a heart attack."

Ken paused in his scrutiny to glare at Wallace. "Don't even joke like that."

Wallace raised one hand in a defensive gesture. "Sorry, sorry."

The problem with Wallace, Ken reflected, was that he was never just sorry.

Wormmon crawled back to Ken's side. "This place has a bad effect on you, Ken-chan," the caterpillar murmured. ""Are you sure you really felt something here?"

Ken let out a sigh. He took one deep breath, then another. "I know… I just think..." He had learned to trust his heart. His heart had said to go find Daisuke and so he had gone and now it was saying the statue had something to say and that he needed to be there to hear it. He trusted his instincts. He trusted the Beacon, more than most. He didn't have much of a choice, but…

"If you really felt something, we'd all know," Wallace said as he patted behind Lopmon's ears. "This guy would have felt it too."

"Maybe..." Ken fidgeted in his seat and then stiffened. He'd definitely felt that one.

Judging by the way Wallace's grip had tightened on his partners, so had he.

"I'm going to Takeru," The blond's words were crisp, cutting.

"Go first, you need a recovery kit and some cover." Ken felt everything snap into place, like the tautness of a rubber band. His head cleared, the feeling, intuition deep and cold, pulsed into his chest. "Get to Takaishi-san. Hurry."

"Where are you going?" Wallace looked straight at him. "You have the healing one, we can't evolve too much. We'll be noticed."

"The Digital World," he said simply. "If we're lucky, I can convince Daisuke-kun. He'll help us. He's strong."

"How do you even know he's there?"

"I told you about that. Have I been wrong about this sort of thing before?" He stepped away from Wallace. "I was right about Ryo, wasn't I?"

Ken didn't wait for an answer; he left the room with Wormmon flailing on his shoulder.

He had to help his friend, had to protect him. He had done it before: he could do it again.

* * *

Daisuke woke with a start. His terminal was warm in his hand. He swore, then sat up straight.  _I actually fell asleep out here_. He guessed it was fine just this once, since he wasn't dead or anything. At least, he didn't think he was dead. He rubbed his head and made to stand. In seconds, he regretted it, stumbling on jelly legs. But he managed a few steps and righted himself, one hand on the wall for support. The terminal hummed and the vibration increased the further he walked. Maybe after this was over, he could market it as a heater and hand massage.

Pfft. Yeah, if there was an "over". If he could get out.

Was Jun okay? Were their parents home yet?

He kept walking and eventually saw a soft light flowing in from the ceiling of a room, dull orange and fading gray. It must be late, or getting there. Beneath the gentle sunbeam was what looked like an egg, an egg that got stabbed the wrong way.

He approached it with care. It could be a bomb. He could be seeing things and it was actually a trap to get gullible dorks like him to come closer. But it did nothing but gleam and look ready to roast people with the patterns on its shell. Flames, endless flames surrounding a sun, or what could be a sun. Daisuke knelt and the terminal let out a gentle beep and then, at long last, went quiet and still.

Well then.

"This thing, huh?"

He knew he shouldn't touch it. His whole brain screamed that it was bad. It was in the Digital World, it had to be bad. Unfortunately, Motomiya Daisuke had a tendency to ignore his brain when there was something shiny and new in the vicinity. He wrapped both hands around it and tugged. It gave way with ease, causing him to fall backwards. It pulsed with warmth and began to glow orange. As it did, three lights shot out from a small hole below. Two flew from the opening in the ceiling and one plopped into his lap, as if relieved it didn't have to go very far.

"Wha-What did I just do?" he asked the empty cave. Of course, no one answered.

In the place where the egg had been, a new light burst out, the color of the roiling flames of a burning oil tanker or a broken oven. They were flames that Daisuke knew very well. He pulled back, crab-walking towards the wall as the light spun and swirled, coalescing into a small, blue creature. The monster (dragon-thing?) slowly uncurled from a ball. It yawned and blinked ruby-red eyes, landing on blue feet with a stretch.

"Finally," it groaned. "I thought it would be forever before someone got here. Ryo's slow, but he's not  _that_  slow, is he?" He looked around in quick swivels of his head. When the red eyes alighted on Daisuke, he visibly brightened. "Hi!" He bounced over from one foot to the other, tackling Daisuke flat on his back. Ow, he felt that in his ribs. He needed those. "It was you, right?" he said. "You lifted it, the Digimental! It was you, right?"

Daisuke looked between the dragon and the egg still stuck to his hand. "I, y-yeah, I guess so."

The dragon blinked at him, then he let out a wild shout. "YES! YAHOO! YES YES YES!" He leaped from Daisuke back to the rest of the room, running around the cave with a few flips and spins, almost colliding with the wall more than once. "He was right! They called it! Knew they wouldn't let me down, I have a partner, a real one! YESSSSS!" He stopped and went back over, big eyes brilliant with pure delight. "I'm V-mon! Who are you?"

"Uh..." He coughed, taking in air. "I'm Daisuke." This guy must have just gotten off of the sugar, or something. That hit was hard.

"Daisuke, huh?" V-mon punched a fist. "Well, Daisuke, I've been waiting for whoever it was had the awesomeness to pick that Akatorimon dropping up! And that was you! So… nice to meet ya! From this day forward, you and me... we're partners, plain and simple!"

"We're what?"

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this took a lot more editing than I realized it would. This is an old fic I decided to pull from my hard drive. It's got a few chapters done, so I thought I'd post it and see what people though. It was originally started in 2012/2013, and a lot can change for a writer in two or three years. So, yeah. Um... please drop a review if you can. I'm hoping everyone enjoyed it! If not, tell me what you didn't like!


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